The Birth of Moses

2 Now a ^(A)man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. ² The woman conceived and bore a son, and ^(B)when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. ³ When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes^[a] and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the ^(C)reeds by the river bank. ⁴ And ^(D)his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. ⁵ Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. ⁹ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became ^(E)her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I ^(F)drew him out of the water.”^[b]

²⁰ Then ^(A)Miriam ^(B)the prophetess, the ^(C)sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and ^(D)all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. ²¹ And Miriam sang to them:

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. ² And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? ^(A)Has he not spoken through us also?” And ^(B)the Lord heard it. ³ Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. ⁴ And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. ⁵ And ^(C)the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. ⁶ And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him ^(D)in a vision; I speak with him ^(E)in a dream. ⁷ Not so with ^(F)my servant Moses. ^(G)He is faithful in all my house. ⁸ With him I speak ^(H)mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in ^(I)riddles, and he beholds ^(J)the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” ⁹ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.

¹⁰ When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, ^(K)Miriam was ^(L)leprous,^[a] like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. ¹¹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, ^(M)do not punish us^[b] because we have done foolishly and have sinned. ¹² Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother's womb.” ¹³ And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.” ¹⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but ^(N)spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be ^(O)shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” ¹⁵ So Miriam ^(P)was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.